RMIG MASONIC MEDAL (Royal Masonic Institution for Girls) - 1954 STEWARD award medal

Postage is extra.

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For sale is a finely made Masonic award medal issued for the ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR GIRLS annual festival of 1954. This medal is made up of two parts: the medal body with heraldic device of the issuing Masonic Province and joined by a double chain link to an enamelled STEWARD bar with pin clasp. The helmeted knight's head and castle tower are also separately made pieces in white-metal alloy.

The RMIG was a charitable girl’s school established in 1788 for the “daughters of deceased and distressed Freemasons”. In 1868, the school was renamed as the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls (RMIG) and is today an independent fee-paying secondary school called the The Royal Masonic School for Girls. In 1934 the RMIG school was moved to Ricksmanworth and since 1978 have taken in pupils from non-Masonic families as well. A similar institution for boys was established in 1798 which eventually became the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys (RMIB).

Money to run these Masonic charitable institutions (RMBI, RMGI, RMBI) was raised through organising annual festivals and social events. Their first annual fund-raising event took place in 1789 and by the latter part of the 19th century these had become formalised into "Festivals". Masonic and non-Masonic attendees who gave a defined minimum donation or more were titled STEWARD of the Festival and awarded a Steward’s jewel in the form of a medal or badge (without a ribbon). Freemasons were permitted to wear the Steward’s jewel as part of their regalia for a maximum of one year, hence why Steward’s medals carry their year of issue. Also, each year the Steward jewel would feature a different design which incorporated the coat-of-arms of the Masonic Province(s) involved in organising the year’s Festival.

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http://www.skirret.com/papers/freemasons_and_charity.html (Masonic charities).

https://vimeo.com/showcase/2149112 (Vintage films about life in RMIB and RMIG schools).

http://www.vrijmetselaarsgilde.eu/Maconnieke%20Encyclopedie/IMAP~1/internetLodge/bags.html (Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys).

https://www.rmsforgirls.org.uk/ (Royal Masonic School for Girls at Rickmansworth website).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Royal_Masonic_School_for_Girls (Royal Masonic School for Girls, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire).

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DESCRIPTION:
Size: about 1 11/32" width (34mm). Overall length about 2 13/16" (72mm).
Material(s): brass with 5 vitreous enamels.
Finish: gilt.
Fitting: pin.
Imprint: TOYE & CO LONDON
Approximate age: 1954

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CONDITION:
Excellent condition. No damage. Pin in working order.
Please see photograph(s), these form part of the description.

POSTAGE:
* Postal costs are extra, additional to the Asking Price.
* I always get a proof-of-posting certificate.
* I combine postal costs for multiple items when these are paid for and posted the same time.

RETURNS:
* Return accepted if the item(s) is returned in same condition it left me, then the full Agreed Asking Price will be refunded. Postal costs are not refundable.
* Buyer pays the return postal costs - unless agreed otherwise.

B.31